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MANITOU SPRINGS, COLO. -- It's one of Manitou Springs' oldest ghost stories, and every year the town makes sure it lives on.

More than 100 years ago Emma Crawford came to Manitou Springs in search of a cure for her Tuberculosis.

It was thought that the town's crisp mountain air and healing waters could help her, and for a while it did.

"She drank the waters, and she started feeling better, and she always wanted to hike up Red Mountain," Jennifer Walters, Miramont Castle Secretary, said.

Against all medical advice, Emma set out on a journey up the mountain and accomplished her goal.

"To mark her efforts she tied a red handkerchief around the tree, a Pinion tree, and later wished that if she ever did die that that's where she wanted to be buried," Walters said.

Things were looking bright for young Emma, and she was in the middle of planning her wedding when things took a turn for the worse, and she succumbed to her illness.

"To me it's tragic, bless her heart," Linda Pineda, who played Mother Francolon at Miramont Castle, said.

"She was here hoping to get married, thought she was feeling better and then takes a turn for the worse, I can't imagine what her fiancé went through, it had to be terrible for him," she added.

Emma's fiancé, William Hildebrand, carried out her final wish and found 12 men to carry her coffin to the top of Red Mountain.

"She loved Manitou Springs and the area, and she loved to walk and loved to hike and she was so excited to get married, and this is just where she wanted to be," Walters said.

The 12 men had to work in shifts and spent two days trying to get Emma to her final resting place.

"Due to the loose gravel, they had to go back and try the next day, but they eventually got her up there," Walters said.

Emma was laid to rest, but her eternal sleep was interrupted.

"Years later we had torrential rains here in Manitou Springs, and her coffin was washed down," Walters said.

Emma's coffin raced back down Red Mountain, and legend has it she was found by some young children.

"There were some young boys playing in Ruxton Canyon, and they ran by this skull, and nearby were the silver handles, and the name plate to her coffin, so they brought them downtown to the sheriff," Pineda said.

Emma was reburied in Crystal Valley Cemetery, where a headstone marks her story, but where her remains actually lie no one is sure.

Emma's tale is an unusual one, which could be why Manitou Springs chooses to honor her in some unusual ways.

Each year the town hosts "coffin races" reenacting Emma's journey back down Red Mountain.

"Several years ago some individuals with the visitor's bureau came up with the coffin races as kind of a fun tribute to Emma," Walters said.

A slightly lesser-known tribute is also held each year for the young woman.

Miramont Castle takes visitors back in time and back to the night of Emma's wake.

"Father Francolon, who was a French priest, and his mother lived here at the castle and back in the Victorian days families would open their homes for wakes, and they opened their home to Mr. Hildebrand, her fiancé, and her family," Walters said.

Pineda said the wake is a more respectful way to honor Emma.

"We just wanted to do something to dignify Emma as a character here in Manitou, so we wanted to give her a little more dignity and teach people about Victorian mourning," Pineda said.

Pineda said she thinks Emma would be honored by the town's events.

"I think she would have enjoyed it. It sounded like she was a very fun-loving young lady and enjoyed people, so I think she would have liked that this was going on for her," Pineda said.

The night of the wake a guided tour takes visitors through the days after Emma's death and up to her final goodbyes, which may or may not be so final.

"We never know what the spirits are gonna do the night of the wake, because you never know what's gonna show up around here," Pineda said.

Some said Emma has been seen entering the castle and wandering around Manitou Springs.

"There's always going to be people that believe that she's still around in spirit," Walters said.

Those who carry on Emma's story say while people must die, history doesn't have to.

"It's part of our history, and we like to keep history alive around here, especially here at the castle because there's a lot of history here itself," Pineda said.